Family Time: Tips to get your house guest-ready in no time

Tuesday

Nov 16, 2010 at 12:01 AMNov 16, 2010 at 3:13 PM

Click inside for the weekly family rail, with holiday-guest tips, a review of “Due Date” and more. Or check out these links:

Tip of the Week

The holiday season is fast approaching, which means - among other things - your home will soon be filled with family and other out-of-towners. Lifestyle expert, TV personality and mother-of-seven Hannah Keeley offers the following tips to ensure your home is guest-ready.

- Get the whole family involved. Let's be honest, no one actually enjoys cleaning the house in preparation for guests. Make the often-daunting task more manageable by assigning cleaning responsibilities to everyone in the family. Create and assign zones to each family member so, when you are expecting a guest, everyone knows exactly which area of the home they are responsible for cleaning.

- Keep it fresh. The scents of the holidays - home-cooked meals, scented candles and fresh pine - can be fragrant, but along with those familiar scents come soot, dust and other nearly invisible contaminants floating around the air you and your guests breathe. Crack the windows to let in some fresh air. Even better, consider installing a whole-home air filtration system.

- Spruce up your guest room. If you're expecting overnight guests, take some extra time to spruce up your spare bedroom. Make sure the bedroom door closes all the way, allowing your guests privacy. Comfortable bedding with extra pillows and blankets will keep your guests comfy during cool winter nights. You could also place an over-the-door hook with a few hangers on the bedroom or closet door so guests have a place to hang their clothes, without rooting through your closets.

- Keep 'em entertained. Collect brochures for your area's local attractions - museums, parks, restaurants and more. Keep some good books on hand, as well as the local newspaper and a few magazines for good measure. Or make some popcorn and treat your guests to your favorite classic holiday movie.

- ARA

Family Screening Room

“Due Date”

Rated: R (for language, drug use and sexual content)

Length: 100 minutes

Synopsis: High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time.

Violence/scary rating: 3

Sexual-content rating: 3.5

Profanity rating: 5

Drugs/alcohol rating: 5

Family Time rating: 5. This is definitely not a movie for kids.

(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)

Book Report

“Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-7),” by J. K. Rowling

Before you see the final Harry Potter movies, re-read the books! This collection contains all seven paperbacks. If you want to splurge, there also is a hardback collection available.

Did You Know

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10 percent of U.S. children have ADHD.

GateHouse News Service

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